Food Banks Canada National Standards are designed as a baseline set of standards to which the food banking network holds itself accountable and benchmarks future performance improvements.

They reflect the food banking network’ s thought leadership and commitment to continually enhance our collective capabilities to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow.

The food banking network has long acknowledged a need for a set of standards that would create performance benchmarks of a well-run organization, while promoting transparency and accountability to the public.

With this in mind, in 2020, Food Banks Canada formed a National Standards Committee, composed of food bank leaders who consulted with a range of staff and volunteers across the network to develop and inform the standards ultimately proposed to Food Bank Canada’s board in 2021. These standards were then piloted to a group of small, medium, and large food banks, as well as provincial associations, as a “real world” test and an opportunity to provide feedback, review and refinement

Becoming accredited through the Food Banks Canada Standards of Excellence will give food banks a baseline set of best practices, allowing for continuous improvement, accountability, and the establishment of clear benchmarks for future performance improvements. This in turn will help reduce risks, create enhanced opportunities to recruit and retain board members and volunteers, and differentiate your food bank as a network leader.

Food Banks Canada Standards of Excellence provides a framework to help the network thrive. As the network aligns and becomes accredited through the standards, we have the opportunity to:

• ADVANCE to an even stronger and more agile food banking system to provide the best service delivery to communities across the country.
• ACTIVATE shared learning to increase innovation and challenge the status quo.
• AMPLIFY the collective impact of the network on Canada’s food insecurity.

• SETTING INDUSTRY STANDARDS – a developed set of standards that create effective and efficient benchmarks across the network, putting people first to ensure food banks are inclusive, respectful, and safe for clients, volunteers, and staff.
• CELEBRATING DIVERSITY – encouraging food banks to honour the diversity of the network, creating spaces for new perspectives and opportunities through the people who are employed and volunteer, as well as the systems and process in place.
• CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND INNOVATION – a commitment to learning and growing together, acknowledging that these standards of excellence have been created to foster collaboration, support, and the exploration of new ideas and approaches.
• ADAPTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY – ensuring there are appropriate risk mitigation strategies in place that enable the management of risk while also encouraging responsible actions and responses among food bank staff and volunteers that are shared with transparency and integrity.
• CONSISTENCY – given the different sizes, types, and services of organizations across the network, the goal is to have the majority of the network participate in the standards to ensure a high-quality experience at food banks from coast to coast to coast.